Launch of ‘DSC A 20 (YARD 325)’ First Ship of 05 x Diving Support Craft (DSC) Project

Diving Support Craft (DSC) Project

• DSC A 20’ is built by M/s Titagarh Rail Systems Ltd (TRSL).
• They are 30 m long catamaran hull ships, with a displacement of approx 300 tons.
• All five (05) DSCs are anticipated to be delivered to the Indian Navy in FY 2024-25.
• These crafts are being fitted with state-of-the-art diving equipment and tools for performing diving operations.
• These ships are designed to undertake operational/ training diving operations in harbours and coastal waters.
• These ships are indigenously designed and built under relevant Naval Rules and Regulations of the Indian Register of Shipping (IRS).
• The hydrodynamic analysis/ model testing of the ships during the design stage was undertaken at the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam.

Significance of a Diving Support Vessel

• A diving support vessel, as the name suggests, is a ship that is used for the objective of diving into oceans.
• Divers who dive into the middle of the seas as a part of the professional diving process need proper diving support.
• The concept of a diving support vessel came into existence four to five decades ago.
• From that time onwards, these ships have been extremely important to the field of commercial diving and for military purposes, which forms a vital part of professional diving.

RAMBHA aboard Vikram completes first in-situ measurements of lunar plasma over the moon

RAMBHA-LP Payload

• The Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere - Langmuir Probe, named after American chemist and physicist Irving Langmuir, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• It is a device used for characterising a plasma.
• The probe operates without interruption, aiming to explore the changes occurring in the near-surface plasma environment throughout the lunar day.
• The device features a 5 cm metallic spherical probe mounted on a 1-metre boom attached to the Chandrayaan-3 lander’s upper deck.
• It was led by Space Physics Laboratory (SPL), Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram.
• Key findings
  • The initial assessment indicates that the plasma near the lunar surface is relatively sparse.
  • It is characterised by a number density ranging from approximately 5 to 30 million electrons per cubic meter.
  • This evaluation specifically pertains to the early stages of the lunar daytime.

How gene mapping almost all remaining kākāpō will help NZ’s rare night parrot survive

Kakapo (owl parrot)

• It is a large, nocturnal, flightless, lek-breeding parrot.
• Appearance:
  • It has a pale owl-like face.
  • It consists of moss green mottled with yellow and black above and similar but more yellow below.
  • The bill is grey, and the legs and feet grey with pale soles.
• These are remarkable and unusual birds found only in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
• They only breed every few years, triggered by the availability of certain forest foods such as the fruits of the native rimu tree.
• Threats:
  • This bird suffers from diseases such as the fungal infection aspergillosis, and many of their eggs are infertile.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Critically Endangered

Lek-breeding

• A lek is an aggregation of males that gather to engage in competitive displays that may entice visiting females who are surveying prospective partners for copulation.

Global Fund secures deal to slash HIV treatment price

Global Fund

• The Global Fund is a worldwide movement to defeat HIV, TB and malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all.
• It was set up in 2002.
• Partners of this initiative: Governments, civil society, health workers and the private sector.
• Funding:
  • It raises funds on a three-year cycle, bringing longer-term predictability in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria.
  • The funding primarily comes from the public sector, with 92% of total funding coming from donor governments. The remaining funding comes from the private sector, foundations and innovative financing initiatives.
• India joined the Global Fund as a donor in 2006 and pledged US$25 million for the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment, covering 2023-2025.
• It would make it possible to provide the advanced pill known as TLD for under $45 per person per year.
• The three-in-one pill bands together the drugs tenofovir disoproxil fumarate, lamivudine and dolutegravir.
• The World Health Organization has recommended it as the preferred first-line HIV treatment for adults and adolescents since it rapidly suppresses the virus that causes AIDS.

HIV

• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an infection that attacks the body’s immune system.
• Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the most advanced stage of the disease.
• HIV targets the body’s white blood cells, weakening the immune system.
• This makes it easier to get sick with diseases like tuberculosis, infections and some cancers.
• It is spread from the body fluids of an infected person, including blood, breast milk, semen and vaginal fluids.
• It can be treated and prevented with antiretroviral therapy (ART).

Over 260 detained during Tripura students’ strike demanding Roman script for Kokborok

Kokborok Language

• Kokborok is the language spoken by the Borok people belonging to the State of Tripura.
• The term kok means "verbal", and borok means "people" or "human".
• It is a Sino-Tibetan language and can be traced back to at least the 1st century AD when the historical record of Tripuri kings started to be written down in a book called the Rajratnakar.
• The dialect belongs to the Tibeto-Burman group of languages, and its root can be traced to the Sino-Tibetan speech family.
• Kokborok got the written form in the year 1897 as Doulot Ahammad, a Muslim scholar, wrote the first Kokborok Grammar named “ KOKBOROMA ANG TRIPURA – VYAKARAN GRAMMAR.”
• It is one of the state languages of Tripura, notified on January 19, 1979.